November would start sweet with win over Mizzou

By Josh Lashley  |   Tuesday, July 18, 2006  |  Comments( 43 )

Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Two times in the past three years (2003 and 2005) the Missouri Tigers put up 41 points en route to wins by 17 points against Nebraska. When the two programs square off on Nov. 4 in Lincoln, however, a major reason for Mizzou's recent success against the 'Huskers won't be on the field. Indeed, the graduation of Missouri quarterback Brad Smith is good news for Cornhusker fans worldwide.

In last year's game, Smith rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns and had 234 passing yards on the way to victory. He ran for three TD's and caught - yes, caught - another one in Mizzou's 2003 triumph. For the Tigers to get the job done this fall someone else will have to perform in a special way and there's a good chance that it won't happen. This is a game that the Nebraska Cornhuskers need to put in the win column.

Don't be fooled, this is not a weak Missouri team, but it's still one the Big Red should be able to handle. Sophomore Chase Daniel looks to be the successor to Smith at QB and he saw some playing time in 2005. Daniel completed 38 passes for 347 yards last fall. The young quarterback will have a lot of proven athletes surrounding him.

Martin Rucker, a redshirt junior, and Chase Coffman, a sophomore, are both tight ends who each had 47 receptions in 2005. Junior Will Franklin is a wide receiver who caught 40 passes last season. Marcus Woods, a redshirt sophomore, is someone to watch out of the backfield. He rushed for 435 yards and added to that with 18 catches last fall.

Missouri should be a fun team to watch, not only for their offense, but for what they bring forth with their defense as well. Brian Smith, a redshirt senior, is one of the best defensive ends around and showed why last fall as he recorded nine sacks. A pair of redshirt senior linebackers, Dedrick Harrington and Marcus Bacon, are both playmakers for the Tigers. Harrington and Bacon had 73 and 85 tackles, respectively, during the 2005 campaign.
The team's leading tackler in 2005, David Overstreet Jr., also returns for Mizzou. Last year Overstreet, a redshirt senior at safety, posted 100 tackles.

The Tigers have a very difficult stretch in October with road games against Texas Tech and Texas A&M before returning home to take on Kansas State and Oklahoma. The 'Huskers would like to show Mizzou that the opposition in November isn't going to be much friendlier.

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CommentsComments: 43  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Dave		02:33 AM
07/18/2006
Definately a victory here for the Huskers.Possibly an easy one.I must admit I have been frustrated with B.C. in the past but,it...
No.2
DBR		04:53 AM
07/18/2006
Nebraska will win because our defense is very talented and can force a young QB to make stupid mistakes, and i think our offense...
No.3
Shannon		09:07 AM
07/18/2006
You know Dave, I couldn't agree with you more. When it comes to winning, its all about character, and T.O. knew character! I...
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